The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not to tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachersstern and wild onesand they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.

NathanielHawthorne

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

When Hester Prynne bears an illegitimate child she is introduced to the ugliness, complexity, and ultimately the strength of the human spirit. Though set in Puritan community centuries ago, the moral dilemmas of personal responsibility, and consuming emotions of guilt, anger, loyalty and revenge are timeless.